JACKS PREPARE FOR BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday, March 6

Tulsa, Okla.

South Dakota State University

Big 12 Championships

A wrestler in a blue singlet goes to hi-five his coach after a win.

Photo by: Evan Patzwald

3/5/2026 10:24:00 AM | Wrestling

Updated 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Bracket

Week 16: #21 South Dakota State at Big 12 Championships
Date	Friday and Saturday, March 6th-7th
Location	Tulsa, Okla.
Site	BOK Center
Television/Stream	ESPN+
Live Stats	FloWrestling
South Dakota State	Game Notes \| Home Page

Brookings, S.D. - The Jackrabbits head to Tulsa, Okla. to compete in the Big 12 Conference Championships on March 6th and 7th. The Jacks come into Tulsa having finished third the last two seasons at the Big 12 Championships. Last year, the Jacks qualified a starter for the NCAA Championships at 9 of the 10 weight classes because of their performances at the Big 12s. The Jacks will look to put on another strong showing at the BOK Center this year, with a trip to the National Tournament on the line.

THE LINEUP:
125: No. 4 Brady Roark (17-4)
133: No. 8 Cale Seaton (14-8)
141: No. 4 Julian Tagg (16-4)
149: Colin Dupill (5-11)
157: No. 6 Cael Swensen (21-5)
165: No. 8 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (13-9)
174: No. 6 Moses Espinoza-Owens (24-6)
184: Brock Fettig (12-11)
197: No. 4 Bennett Berge (12-3)
HWT: Luke Rasmussen (9-8)
*Big 12 Seeds as of 3/5

Big 12 Allocations By Weight
125: 5
133: 7
141: 7
149: 5
157: 5
165: 4
174: 7
184: 8
197: 8
285: 6
Total: 62
LAST TIME OUT: NDSU
The Jacks came up short in their dual against the Bison Sunday afternoon, as NDSU scored the upset victory over No. 19 SDSU, 20-13.

The Bison pulled off key upsets at 125, 157, 197 and 285 pounds during the dual. Starting the match off, No. 19 Brady Roark and No. 27 Ezekiel Witt went head-to-head at 125 pounds. The crafty Witt was able to best Roark with his eccentric style, scoring a major decision and giving the Bison the lead to start the dual, 4-0.

At 133 pounds, Cale Seaton grappled with Tristan Daugherty in a rematch from the Daktronics Invitational. The pair were deadlocked at 1-1 heading into sudden victory, where Seaton was able to get in on a single leg and wrestle Daugherty to his back, scoring the decision for the Jackrabbits, cutting the Bison lead to 4-3.

On Senior Day, Julian Tagg went to work against Devon Harrison. After giving up an early takedown, Tagg battled back with two takedowns of his own in the second and third periods to secure the decision, 10-5, putting the Jacks on top, 6-4.
Colin Dupill faced a ranked opponent at 149 pounds, taking on #19 Max Petersen. Dupill scored first in the match, but it was all Petersen from there, as Petersen exploded in the third period with three takedowns to secure a 16-7 major decision and put the Bison back on top, 7-6.

The first half of the dual was rounded out at 157 pounds with a match between No. 13 Cael Swensen and Gavin Drexler. Drexler got to Swensen early, scoring a takedown that injured Swensen, stifling him for the rest of the match. Drexler was unable to score another takedown in the match as Swensen gutted out the rest of the match to hold him to a decision, 6-3.

The Jacks came out firing after the break as No. 29 Marcus Espinoza-Owens went against Boeden Greenley. Espinoza-Owens was all over Greenley from the beginning, forcing two stall calls in the first, before finding a takedown in the second. Espinoza-Owens exploded in the third, landing takedown after takedown and coming away with the major decision, cutting the Bison's lead to 11-10.

At 174 pounds, No. 16 Moses Espinoza-Owens took the mat against Max Magayna. Moses scored two takedowns in the first and second periods on Magayna, but Magayna battled back and scored a late takedown of his own, holding Moses to a decision, but giving the Jacks the lead, 13-11.

The freshman, Jarrett Wadsen, got the call at 184 pounds against No. 28 Aidan Brenot. Wadsen was the aggressor throughout the match, but Brenot was able to counter it with a few takedowns, holding on to an 8-2 decision and giving the Bison back the lead, 14-13.

The Bison stacked upsets at 197 and 285 pounds as No. 28 Devin Wasley scored an upset over No. 4 Bennett Berge, due to two takedowns in the second and third periods.

With the dual on the line, No. 25 Luke Rasmussen went up against Shilo Jones. After missing an ankle pick in the first, Rasmussen was caught by Jones and ridden out, which set the tone for the rest of the match. Jones won 10-6 and secured the dual for NDSU, 20-13, giving NDSU its first win over the Jacks since 2021.

JACKS IN THE RANKINGS
125: Brady Roark   24/21/21
133:Derrick Cardinal   NR/22/NR
133: Cale Seaton   30/NR/31
141: Julian Tagg   16/16/10
149: Alek Martin   20/NR/NR
157: Cael Swensen   22/19/16
165: Marcus Espinoza-Owens    33/26/29
174: Moses Espinoza-Owens   15/15/14
197: Bennett Berge   6/6/6
285: Luke Rasmussen   32/33/28
*Flo/Intermat/Coaches

NWCA COACHES POLL
Rank   Team (First)   Record   Points
1   Penn St.(16)   (15-0)   400
2   Ohio State   (18-1)   383
3   Oklahoma St.    (15-1)   369
4   Iowa State   (12-2)   351
5   Nebraska   (13-6)   334
6   Virginia Tech   (11-3)   319
7   Iowa       (12-6)   295
8   NC State   (15-4)   293
9   Minnesota   (11-5)   272
10   Illinois       (12-5)   258
11   Rutgers   (14-5)   235
12   Michigan   (9-6)   216
13   Pittsburgh   (11-4)   187
14   Missouri   (12-8)   181
15   North Carolina   (9-5)   151
16   West Virginia   (11-5)   144
17   Northern Iowa   (11-8)   138
18   Stanford   (7-6)   135
19   Wisconsin   (12-5)   132
20   Indiana       (9-5)   89
21   S. Dakota St.   (12-5)   85
22   Wyoming   (8-5)   79
23   Oklahoma   (9-6)   48
24   Oregon State   (7-2)   41
25   Lehigh   (11-7)   24

Others Receiving Votes: Columbia 20, Rider 7,
Purdue 4, Penn 4, SIU Edwardsville 3, Cornell 2.
Dropped Out: None.

WRESTLERS TO WATCH: Bennett Berge
Bennett Berge returns to the Big 12 Tournament at 197 pounds this year after finishing third last year at 184 pounds. The redshirt junior from Mantorville, Minnesota, is currently ranked No. 6 in the country at 197 pounds with a 12-3 record overall. He is the 4-seed in the 197-pound bracket.

Berge will have plenty of competition at 197 pounds, as the top 4 seeds are all ranked in the top 10 nationally. Among them are No. 2 Rocky Elam from Iowa State, No. 3 Joey Novak from Wyoming and No. 7 Cody Merril from Oklahoma State. Berge's only match against the three wrestlers this year was against Elam during SDSU's dual with Iowa State. Elam took that bout by decision, 5-1.

Berge is a two-time NCAA Qualifier and was an All-American at 184 pounds in 2024. His best win this season is over now, No. 8 Angelo Posada at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, a 3-1 decision. His two previous Big 12 Championship finishes were 4th in 2024 and 3rd in 2025. He will have to be at his best against tough competition this weekend. As Ric Flair once proclaimed, to be the man, you have to beat the man, and this weekend, Berge will have to beat the man.

Key Storylines
BACK FOR MORE: The Jackrabbits return Cael Swensen and Alek Martin to their lineup after both sat out the 2024-25 season with injuries

PROGRAM RECORDS: The Jackrabbits continued to set program records under Damion Hahn in 2024-25, sending a record nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia

REPLACING DEVOS: The Jackrabbits will have a few options at 174 pounds this year as they try to replace two-time All-American and five-time NCAA Qualifier Cade DeVos. Fighting for the spot will be Connor Gaynor and Moses Espinoza-Owens.

MOVIN' ON, MOVIN' UP: All-American Bennett Berge will make the jump from 184 pounds, where he was a two-time NCAA Qualifier and a fourth-place finisher in 2024 to 197 pounds this year, replacing the graduated Zach Glazier. The jump to 197 pounds mirrors Coach Hahn's jump from 184 pounds to 197 pounds, where he won two National Championships.

RETURNING PRODUCTION: The Jacks will have an NCAA Qualifier at 7 of their 10 weights this year, while Moses Espinoza-Owens, Brock Fettig and Brady Roark all filled in at their respective weights due to injuries last season.
JACKS IN THE RANKINGS: SDSU has nine of its starters listed in InterMat's and FloWrestling's Rankings. Amongst the highest ranked are Berge at No. 4, Cael Swensen at No. 17, Brady Roark at No. 19, Julian Tagg at No. 17 and Moses Espinoza-Owens at No. 16. The Jacks also dropped to number 21 in the NWCA Division 1 Coaches Poll.

PROVEN WINNER: Last season, Damion Hahn became the winningest coach at the D1 level in South Dakota State history, passing Chris Bono with 65 wins. Hahn's 84 dual wins for the Jackrabbits rank fourth all-time among all Jackrabbit Wrestling coaches behind Jason Liles, Warren Williamson and Mike Engels.

OFF-SEASON WORK: The JWC was incredibly successful on the freestyle and Greco-Roman circuits between March and August. Quin Morgan took home the U20 Greco-Roman Championship at 97kg at the US Open to start the season. Tommy Dineen and Daniel Guanajuato added runner-up finishes at their respective weights at the U23 Freestyle Nationals. Dineen also added a gold medal at the Junior Pan-American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Last year's freshman class put up an impressive 92-28 total record through open competitions and duals. Leading the way was freshman Logan Swensen with a 28-6 record overall. Swensen looks to back up returning NCAA Qualifier Derrick Cardinal at 133 pounds this year.

STOP SIGNS IN BROOKINGS: The incoming freshmen at SDSU are coming off an impressive summer. Micah Hach (8th), Keenan Sheridan (8th), Conlan Carlson (8th) and Jarrett Wadsen (2nd) all earned All-American honors at the Fargo Nationals in Freestyle. Wadsen (4th) and Bas Diaz (2nd) earned All-American honors in Greco as well.

A Look Ahead
The Jacks' next competition is the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 19-21.

-GoJacks.com-